She’d been just one of the passel of kids and puppies who’d run all over the place in the summers. She and Lana had been the only girls. But nobody had ever doubted that Lana was all girl. She wore pretty clothes and didn’t like snakes or worms or touching fish, and she’d refused to rough-house with her brothers. Alex had been willing to do any of that stuff if it meant she got to spend time with Jim Kelley. And then there was her dad, of course. After the accident, he’d never been the same …
“Thanks for working your magic, Alex,” her supervisor in Chandler’s office said warmly. “I owe you one.”
Alex smiled. “Speaking of which, I’ve got a dentist appointment this afternoon. Will it be a problem for me to take a long lunch?”
The harassed chief-of-staff, Trevor McKinley, replied, “Are you kidding? You saved my life getting the boss’s computer up and running again so fast. Take the rest of the day off.”
Alex smiled and slipped out of the office. When she stepped onto the sidewalk, she pulled out her cell phone and called Jim’s office extension.
“Captain Kelley,” he answered shortly.
“Hi, it’s me. I’m done.”
“Perfect. Can I pick you up somewhere?”
She blinked, startled. He wanted to come get her? Vividly aware of not wanting to talk about sensitive information over an unsecured phone, she replied lightly, “How about I meet you?”
“Kirby’s. Noon. Lunch,” he bit out.
A lunch date with Jim Kelley? Holy cow. “Uhh, okay. See ya there.” She disconnected the call in minor shock. It was just work, but still. She was having lunch with him! She glanced down at her clothes in dismay. She looked like a prison guard in these severe gray pants and white Oxford shirt. No help for it. She didn’t have time to go home and make it back downtown before noon. So much for acting more like Lana Kelley. Abandoning the Beast in its outrageously expensive spot in the parking garage around the corner, she opted to grab the Metro to the other end of the Mall and Kirby’s Diner.
When she walked into the crowded joint at five minutes till twelve, Jim was already there. She was thankful that he subscribed religiously to the army theory that if you weren’t five minutes early, you were late. He spotted her and waved. Somehow, he’d managed to snag a postage-stamp-sized table that optimistically was supposed to seat two. She made her way through the noisy crush to join him.
She sat down and gulped as her knee promptly banged into his. She levered herself sideways to avoid physical contact with him. No way could she eat a messy hamburger while rubbing knees with the man. She’d choke to death for sure. She picked up the glass of ice water he’d already ordered for her and took a sip.
“How was your morning?” he asked.
“Productive. Yours?” she replied more breathlessly than she liked.
“The same.” Grinning, he reached into his pocket and fished out a set of keys. “Here.”
“What are these?”
“Keys to the love nest you and I are about to borrow on Capitol Hill for a little while.”
She inhaled sharply, which was unfortunate given that she was still sipping at her water. She coughed violently enough that Jim reached around to thump her on the back, which didn’t do a darned thing to help her breathe.
“Jeez. Don’t say things like that to a girl when she’s drinking.”
Abruptly grim, he murmured under the din around them, “We’re green-lighted.”
“For what?”
“Full-blown op. Looks like you’re finally going to get your wish to play soldier, and I’m going to get mine to go after Lana’s kidnappers.”
She jolted. He doesn’t know about all the things I’ve done to finagle working with him, does he? Belatedly, she realized he was talking about their argument yesterday. She scowled. “I still want to go to a war zone. Experience real combat. A ‘love nest’ on Capitol Hill hardly qualifies.”
“I dunno. The halls of power in this town can be pretty cutthroat.”
She rolled her eyes as a waitress came to take their orders and left again.
Jim leaned close. “Whatever you want, you’ve got it. Sky’s the limit.”
If only.
“Any gear, any cool gadgets you need. Just say the word.”
Whoopee. Gadgets.
“The place is furnished. All we’ve got to do is move in and go for it.”
Does he have to keep saying things like that? I’d love nothing better than to go for it with him.
“You think you’re up to this, Al?”
“Uhh. Yeah. Sure.”
“I can’t wait to nail that guy.”
I can’t wait to nail him. Oh, wait. Work. This is the mission I’ve been dreaming of getting. Minus the war zone. But hey. It’s a start.
Their lunch arrived and she stared down in dismay at the juicy burger, piled high with all the trimmings. She doubted she could get her mouth around that thing, let alone do it in either a neat or ladylike fashion.
Abandoning fashion for common sense, she unfolded her napkin and tucked it into the front of her shirt before she tackled the hamburger. Jim grinned and did the same. But then, he was wearing a three-hundred-dollar silk tie.
“When do you have to get back to the office?” he asked just as she took a bite of her sandwich.
She chewed convulsively. Don’t choke. Don’t choke. Don’t choke. Finally, she was able to answer safely, “Tomorrow morning. Trevor gave me the rest of the day off.”
“Who’s Trevor?”
Stunned, Alex stared at him. He sounded a shade defensive there for a second. “My boss. Chandler’s chief of staff.”
“Ahh.”
To Alex’s immense relief, they ate in silence after that. The last thing she needed was for Jim to have to give her the Heimlich maneuver and for her to spew half-chewed hamburger all over the place.
“Did you drive?” he asked after he casually flipped a couple of bills on the table to cover the meal and a hefty tip.
“No. The Beast is still up on the Hill.”
“Why do you keep that thing anyway?”
Because her father had saved his money for a year to buy the wreck and the two of them had fixed it up together the first winter after her brother died. She was fairly certain the car had saved her brokenhearted father’s life. And then he’d given it to her when she graduated from high school…. Its sentimental value was beyond price.
“It
